Allardyce seeks assurances over Everton future

I never wanted him in the first place and he's done precisely nothing to change my mind about that.

Like, Paul, I'd speculate that David Unsworth would have turned things around to avoid that risk. We will never know. However, Sam did what we all wanted him to do and what he was brought in to do.

The long-term consequences of us being relegated could, quite possibly, have been disastrous. Would, for instance, Moshiri have stayed around and continued to dip into his pocket in order to try to see us bounce right back? Would the appetite amongst those Councillors charged with making the decision in terms of funding the build of a new stadium have immediately abated? And so on.

We could well have joined the likes of the two Sheffields, Leeds Utd, Nottm Forest, Derby County, etc – former glory clubs in "history" perennially languishing in the Championship (or below).

You feel we were in serious danger of being relegated after 8 matches!!! Christ, don't look at how Allardyce faired against those same 8 opponents, because he actually did worse than Koeman. He deserves nothing other than to be put away in a dark section of the Everton history books.

This year is my 60th as a Blue and this side is the worst in my experience. Not the worst players but by far the worst team.

It's an indictment of the quality of the Premier League that we could actually finish in the top half. So, thanks Sam, job done. Now let's try to put this appalling, chaotic, season behind us and get the new management team in ASAP.

But I agree with you on new management for sure. I say give Sam all the assurance he needs of a free air ticket to Pago Pago or Pitcairn Island.

We were poor but we needed a quality manager to come in and get us playing good football. Instead, we appointed a disaster of a manager who thinks far too much of himself for never winning a single solitary thing.

Look at the results since he took charge. There hasn't been one single victory that we would not have expected to have in any season under just about any manager, and a good few dropped points we would have expected to pick up in any average season.

We have played some of the most uninspiring, drab, anti-football I have seen in decades of watching Everton. For God's sake Go!

One of this season's low points was when we were spanked 4-1 by Southampton. They are now one of the three teams staring down both barrels, while we're sitting safe and sound (if not exactly pretty).

As to whether Sam's done all he was engaged to do... has anyone seen his contract? If not, 'tis all conjecture.

No, I don't want this guy in charge either – in fact, I hope the 'clarification' he wants comes as, "Well, thanks but no thanks on anymore.. so, yep, take yer holiday money and tata an all that!" – but claiming he didn't even do what we initially got him in to do, is just subjectively spiteful bollocks, and does no-one any good.

Outside of the top six, anyone can be labelled a relegation candidate at that stage of the season; it's time for him to fuck off and trouser his pay off. Get out of our club NOW!!!

We weren't plodding along but 'slipping' occasionally, ffs... we were getting to be, already were really, a team that every other thought they could get something out of, usually a win, and that our heartless defence would simply collapse again under any pressure. Facts are facts, let's not bullshit ourselves.

But, no, I don't want Allardyce as our manager any longer either. I'm just not going to hatefully, blindly, go along with this 'he's made our problem' either, like he hasn't, at least, made us generally more 'solid'. No, that's not enough, I know, and he can leave right now as he doesn't belong here, especially if we're going to continue to dream of a much brighter, much more attractive football-playing future.

Let's just keep a real and clear perspective on what's been happening with Everton for a while now, and was seemingly coming to an ugly head – no pun intended... or was it? – early, yes even so early, this very season.

Perhaps we could and should extend things further? Credit where credit due, since Sam's arrival, tensions with Russia have grown, Assad's been using chemical weapons (allegedly, but it could have been Sam), cryptocurrencies have tanked, Kate Middleton's pregnant (and while she's due... Big Sam can just decide the gestation period – look what he did from the stands versus West Ham and his first clean sheet!) and the bloke from Supermarket Sweep has died.

All this under Sam's watch... no such thing as a coincidence and all that. All hail Sam.

Absolute shambles from top to bottom.

Allardyce has even had the brass neck to try and claim responsibility for the 4-0 drubbing of West Ham in Unswoth's last game in charge. How appalling is that? I never saw him on the touchline that night shouting instructions, making decisions – did you? And yet, what credit did David Unsworth receive for that performance. None!

We'd had a bad start to the season, but the fixture list had been more than unkind to us. In 59 years of supporting the club, I've seen us make some poor starts before and there were a number of occasions when we were languishing in the bottom half until Christmas, only for us to storm back in the New Year and attain a top half finish. God help us if we had panicked and changed the manager every time that happened.

So okay, let's see Moshiri act decisively for once. Call Allardyce's bluff and tell the useless twat he's out at the end of the season. Any other decision will only serve to inflame the feelings of the fan base and he runs the risk, despite record season ticket sales, of supporters turning their backs on the team next season.

If, as a result of the survey, the fans vote almost unanimously against Allardyce, Moshiri will find himself between a rock and a hard place. Does he allow the bully boy to force him into endorsing his position for another season, or does he react to thousands of fans clearly telling him we want rid of the man?

The survey has proved what a weak leader Moshiri is. He should have had the guts to take Allardyce into his office and quietly tell him we would not be retaining his services next season but we would not make any announcement until the season ends.

If Kenwright has really apologised to Allardyce over the survey, we have yet more weakness shown at the top level of the club, and, if I were the marketing director of Everton I would be rightly seething. Both Kenwright and Moshiri must have known the survey was to be sent out. It's too big an issue for them to have been in total ignorance about it.

So it boils down to whether the men at the top are going to let themselves be bullied by Allardyce into endorsing his disastrous reign, as I'm sure he knows how weak they are, or will they stand up for what's best for the club going forward, because we sure aren't going to be challenging for anything under Allardyce, that's for sure. Their decision will go a long way towards telling us just how serious Moshiri is about turning us into a club that can regularly challenge for honours and a place at the Premier League's top table.

We are waiting, Mr Moshiri!

Allardyce would've appeared more dignified by saying he'd leave any statements on the matter, in the hands of the club. Not his modus operandi, though.

Expect a full-on shitty mess.

Water under the bridge...

Good point. Allardyce was gifted a much-needed opportunity to earn the respect of the fans by remaining quiet and dignified on the matter but, despite having time to think it through, has waded in as usual with his siege mentality narrative and embarrassed the club and divided the hierarchy.

Bringing in Allardyce was the move of a panicked man who could see his investment being lost if we got relegated. After all, the money he would get for EFC in the Championship wouldn't do, if he's after a profit in the medium term, would it?

Moshiri: "Your taxi is outside waiting for you, Samuel."

What a cheek this fat tub of lard has! He should be jumping on one leg in anticipation of his massive golden handshake and his luxury retirement in whatever tax haven he chooses to go to. POS!!

We are a mess, gentlemen – there is no way of dressing it up. If that were not the case, we would not have countenanced the ridiculous buying and selling of last summer... nor panicked in the autumn and appointed a manager who has dented our cause for a long time to come.

Given that fact and the timing of the issue of the survey, it could be that the survey issue was designed to provoke exactly this type of reaction and "showdown" from Sam Aallardyce.

He has now asked publicly for the board to clarify his situation i.e. "back me or sack me".

The results of the survey will have left the board in no doubt as to how the paying fans feel.

Over to you, Messrs Moshri & Kenwright!!!

There... how's that?

The efforts of Unsworth only really bore fruit in that West Ham game, when the players were well aware of the new boss in the stand. It was the lack of leadership from the board that was causing the whole situation to slide, and the decision to bring in Sam was a good one. Overlooking his big personality, his basic football has kept us up and he has been rewarded by his fat paycheque.

Who knows what would have happened? I am just glad it didn't.

It's not just a manager Mr Moshiri should be looking for.

We are now 9th and playing like a relegation-haunted team!!

Progress??? Close the door after you, big head!

I look at the empty seats at the Emirates as a way of conveying the message yet our fans keep coming to Goodison Park... A half-empty stadium speaks volumes! Vote with your feet people, stop renewing season tickets.

A Moshiri who my jury is still out on, by the way, as I can see Jim White in the Sky studio saying: "I've just had Farhad on the phone, and we know you are watching, Sam, so I'm telling you, you're sacked."

They never posted it.

"Nil points, Sam Allardyce, nil points Sam Allardyce" etc

Or the 80's Alluette song, starting with: "How we love our Marketing Department, shaggy Stevens, Big Nev etc."

We were playing poorly but then so were 12 other teams and we had played 5 of the top 6 in our first 9 games. Of course, things were likely to get better and more points to be found against the likes of Huddersfield and Swansea at home.

Too many went over the top in terms of doom and gloom and that includes the board who appointed an archaic relegation specialist when the season might yet have yielded something a bit more progressive. It was a panicked move that has set us back and re-inforced the negative mindset that has taken hold of our club.

I strongly suspect that, had Unsworth been made permanent manager (how hard it is for temporary charge to command total respect), he would've achieved as many points, played some better football, and developed the kids a bit more along the way.

He knows quite well that we don't want him and he cannot win us over so he will play the victim and somehow demand compensation for something that has been overlooked in his contract.

I could be wrong, of course, and Moshiri falls for it and extends his contract!!

Looking at the club's who have taken up residency in the top 5, I give you Manchester United, Chelsea, Spurs, and Manchester City. All of whom have been relegated in the not so distant past. City, of course, had the shame of slipping further than most into the pits of Division 3. Look at them now.

I suppose what I am saying is that Everton have been treading water for so long, and have become an inconsequence at the top level. Maybe dropping down would have been beneficial long-term somewhere down the years. Instead of trying to hang onto something that has quite clearly left this once great club quite some time ago.

The money now is so vast for all concerned in the game, that it would be unthinkable for that scenario to be regarded. Of course, parachute payments would still be made, which have of course assisted teams to return to the top flight in the past. Maybe England's answer to Red Adair has done us a disservice in keeping this proud but becoming pointless existence in a blue twilight zone in the top flight.

Well we remain, in name only, in the money madhouse of the Premier League and will have another bash at getting it right sooner rather than later. Onward and upward... though the latter may be a tad optimistic.

I think his comments on Moshiri are more telling: he implies that Moshiri is so busy running the accounts of Usmanov's companies, that he has to trust the people he has put in place to run the club. I genuinely believe that Moshiri has come here to facilitate a new ground and then once built sell the club for a healthy profit.

Now if, as has been suggested, that Everton cant raise the capital for the new stadium the council will fund the whole project, then it really is a bonus for Moshiri. Will he take up the other 50.1%? Well, if the council do fund the whole stadium it would be mad not to? Many hoped or expected Usmanov to follow Moshiri; I don't think that was ever on the cards. If it had been, with the go-ahead for the new ground, he would have been here by now.

So I will be interested to see if Moshiri takes up the remaining shares and if we can raise the money for the new stadium or whether the council stump up all the money. So maybe he doesn't want to pay another 㾶 million in compensation, as he has with the last two managers, and will keep Allardyce till his contract is due for renewal or Allardyce walks before that happens.

There is a unanimity of reaction towards him. I am in Exeter so can't be at Goodison but I would implore those of you who are to make your feelings visible and voluble throughout the game.

Even if we are winning, and heaven forbid looking almost half decent (unlikely) there is more than enough talent and wit within the crowd to devise appropriate songs and chants.

My favourite is "Allardyce you are shit you useless lump of lard" – sung to any tune whatsoever. Over and over and over and over ..... And over.........

Sam did the minimum I expected of him, which was to stabilise us and stave off any threat of relegation – whether that was real or imagined. What he hasn't done is show any sign of us being able to kick on under his management. He's managed to get about 10% more than either Koeman or Unsworth got from this unbalanced, injury-hit and starless squad, but that's not enough to keep the job, in my opinion.

Arsenal have now clarified Wenger's position – he's off – and I would expect Moshiri to do the same with Sam now that Allardyce has started bleating about needing to know where he stands. I'll be disappointed if there isn't a statement in the next couple of weeks saying Thanks and Goodbye.

Well done the Everton Marketing Department, they have spooked Big Sam. Hope they are real efficient getting the results out. Had a good thought just now, that maybe Moshiri initiated the survey.

Koeman v Alllardyce (against same teams)

P W D L F A Diff Pts
Koeman 9 2 2 5 7 18 -11 8
Allardyce 9 2 1 6 8 19 -11 7

Solution (now we're safe). Call Allardyce a taxi RIGHT NOW. Moshiri to pick the team for the last four matches (well he does own the joint!!). Boys Pen Bill to manage/coach the last four games then call him a taxi and make sure Elstone and Walsh are in there with him. Simples ;-)

Let's get one thing straight: here in the world of football, you attract players and staff to the club that match your ambitions and match the vibe that you give off as a club. We at EFC have got the manager that fits right in with what we are at the moment. Under Kenwright, we are still as we were 20 years ago. There has been no progress and the addition of Mysterious Moshiri has taken us backwards. Moshiri is no better than Peter Johnson as far as I am concerned.

If Everton FC wants to attract one of these top foreign coaches you all lust after, then the club needs a drastic overhaul from top to bottom. A radical re-think, a shake-up, a clear-out – call it whatever you like. Sadly, I can't see anything decisive happening any time soon around Goodison Park, so suck it up, guys – Sam is here to stay... unless you want Mark Hughes or Niel Warnock!

On TalkSport this morning Ally McCoist was having his two penneth worth as well. What's the fucking problem if he's done such a good job, done what his remit stated? Isn't this a chance for the supporters (not fans) to show their appreciation?

The reason it's been taken like it has is down to the fact that everybody knows he's been shite, he's been arrogant in his shiteness, and all the sycophantic arse-lickers within the game, or ex-players STILL look after their own. If he's so fucking good, what's wrong with a survey?

They all know that you can blow smoke up just about everybody's arse involved in the game nowadays except for the paying supporters who have to watch his fucking garbage, week-in & week-out.

They don't want the truth.... THEY CAAAAAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!!

Secondly, read this match day fan reaction from ToffeeWeb after our hammering at Southampton, our 12th game of the season, so nearly a third in.

Another dismal and dispirited capitulation

Dozens of fans, including me, felt relegation was a serious threat after that performance. The very same fans whose opinion is now being asked of about Allardyce's performance, so their opinion is valid.

At that point in the season, we needed a manager to come in and provide stability and ensure we didn't go down. That's what has happened.

For me, to now try to change the narrative to ‘We were never going to get relegated', in order to undermine Allardyce's impact, is disingenuous.

As I say, I don't want him here next season, but he has done the job he was brought in to do and we should at least acknowledge that.

"He just keeps on saying the wrong things. We are trying to build a team, not dismantle one. Lookman should be part of our future, Allardyce shouldn't...

Allardyce out now!!"

Or Wenger as DOF to guide the club forwards? Would he want the challenge, will he come north?

Just asking, like.☺

Then think about us, and how far we've fallen.

As I said "Fixtures, fixtures, fixtures". If Allardyce was the coach at the start of the season, he would have been sacked after the Arsenal game!

Precisely mate. I get annoyed with pundits such as Merson et al, asking why Evertonians are so vexed with Sam. In truth, it's not just Sam we are annoyed with, it's the whole club that we are dismayed in.

It would be acceptable if the team went out on the pitch and at least tried to play the game in the right manner and with a competitive edge... but no, we continue to plough the same old boring furrow.

I challenge any of those self-opinionated pundits to visit Goodison Park to see a few games on the spin and do the same with away matches. If, at the end of that arduous task, they still hold the opinion that we shouldn't be so demanding, despite spending a shed load of cash, then I would be amazed. Then again, only six English clubs really matter to those pundits, so not that amazed.

I don't agree, that wasn't his role; if it was, his contract would have been to just the end of the season, not another season after that. Allardyce's job was to steady the ship and make progress with a view presumably to then earning himself another deal after the 18 months is up.

What he has done is alienate virtually every supporter as far as I can see with his dull tactics and his boorish and arrogant behaviour.

I have renewed my season tickets for next season and I travel a long way to the ground, irrespective of Allardyce staying or not. I'm not a great fan of his although some of the draconian views above and personal comments I despair of.

Allardyce has brought Tosun and Walcott to the club, two players who have improved us. He has also used Tom Davies and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, quite well really. I don't think he is the man to lead us forward to a new competitive era but there are no real obvious candidates to succeed him and I would hate another short-term speculative appointment to fail, it's never been the Everton way.

The Mike Walker and Walter Smith years show that. People above saying this is the worst ever Everton team need to take a long hard look at themselves. Allardyce I think will be Everton manager at the start of next season and he has already given us all an idea of his brief, to dramatically trim the squad from 35 to 26 professionals.

The errors of the Koeman era are coming home to roost. Leicester and Spurs have shown that shrewd investment in youth, cautious development of young talent, energy and commitment can succeed. Allardyce has at least shown an eye for someone who can improve on what we have so I think we won't be in for a scattergun approach over the summer in terms of transfers. Whoever it is, come August, I will be shouting on the Blues.

Better be quick, though, because – when Southgate is potted after a disastrous World Cup – the big Frenchman may take the England job as his swan song.

No manager could have had this group higher than 9th. Leicester have Vardy and Mahrez. We have a good right back who's been injured for most of the season.

The fans love Pickford. He's almost 6'-1" tall, he's inexperienced, he is error-prone and may not get in the England side. He is probably the 15th to 20th best keeper in the Premier League and he's our Player of the Season.

A promoted manager next summer will back himself to find a forward better than Tuson, Niasse and Calvert-Lewin.

Our fan base is either utterly clueless or they just love being on trend. Slagging Allardyce – it's fashionable, it's well-liked by the sheep. Is it a true assessment of his ability or performance?

It would have been interesting to see what he would have done with a summer transfer window (based on two good signings out of two)... but hopefully, we won't find out!

But at least it's fashionable.

Diego Simeone isn't being touted by our intelligent fan base but the fourth-best Portugal fella will have us in the top 6?

I suppose he would have turned Martina and Kenny into Cafu and Carlos as well?

Nothing more certain...

Take the percieved or real threat of relegation off the table and judge Sam on the majority of the team's performances and we have what exactly? A dire, boring brand of football with very little in the way of entertainment – that might have been acceptable when he first arrived but he's done nothing different since those opening fixtures, and he doesn't look capable of doing things differently, whether he stays for another season or five.

Allardyce could take charge of Manchester City and he would have them playing in exactly the same style that we are currently seeing at Goodison. Granted, his results may improve due to the higher quality of players available, but his team wouldn't be giving most opponents a football lesson, week-in & week-out, as City do under Pep.

Alan, how on earth have you come to the conclusion that Fonseca is Portugal's fourth-best coach? That statement is kinda absurd. How do we rate them? Are you referring to titles won?

I take a look at the football that is on display in Shakhtar and see that it is good. And he is a viable option. Simeone would be class, but I don't think Atletico Madrid will let him go. Fonseca's contract is expiring, so he is a viable option.

Generalising about Evertonians that they can't think for themselves is such an erroneous assumption. The football we are playing now sucks bigtime, and most Evertonians see it. That's why everyone is calling for his sacking, not because they're following a trend like sheep...

Allardyce out now!!

Would Martina be Cafu under Fonseca? I'd say Yes. Trophies and CVs are good ways of determining who is the best coach.

Also, Fonseca doesn't have much competition in that league. Or does he? You seem to have watched a lot of his games??

We will still have Kenwright as chairman.
We will still have too many sub-standard players.
We will still be selling to buy.
We still won't see any Everton merchandise in the high streets.
We will still be little old Everton or 'Who?' to most of the football world.

So hold on tight; it's going to be a bumpy ride, with or without Allardyce.

The thing with trophies is that they are all in the past. We are thinking about what football we will play in the future. The way the optimal football is played changes long-term in time but also short-term with the opposition, hence we need a manager that can be tactically flexible... Allardyce isn't tactically flexible. He has one style of play and implements it, but it isn't a good enough tactic to take us where we want to be...

You can never say if a manager will succeed in your team until you try him. Fonseca + Everton might be a unique match, and he'll go on winning it all with us, or it might not work. But if we don't try we will never know. None of all the managers you can think of started his managerial career with a lot of titles in his CV... And Allardyce has more experience than many to boast in his CV, but has he any titles?

Allardyce out now!!

Yes, that is correct, but you are forgetting that our players play based on the instructions they get from Allardyce. And with the mentality instilled in them by Allardyce. I don't agree with either his tactics or his mentality. We should go into games with only one mentality — to win the game, no matter who we play against.. Then it's up to the manager to draw the tactics how to do that. Football isn't just putting 11 players on the pitch and hoping they play good enough to win...

Allardyce out now!!

Allardyce out now!

ps: I love the way my tablet defaults to the word "malpractice" every time I type his name – it seems so appropriate!

A three- or four-year contract to the next guy, with significant spending if possible (which I doubt will now happen) will at least concentrate the minds of any ambitious players, assuming we have more than Seamus and a few of the youngsters in the first place, to start the revolution from within the dressing room that I think we also need.

Expand and explain using evidence or logical reasoning. You can say he's shit and I can say he's good. Explain how anyone gets this squad with injuries from where it was to higher than 9th.

Do you even believe Fonseca would have? Why aren't you demanding Simeone?

So I can give him no credit at all and he should consider himself lucky to have had the opportunity to manage Everton whilst at the same time take the piss out of us due to the most unprofessional board in our history.

1. Pickford is the same height as Southall. Southall highlights deficiencies with big keepers and says that, as no-one whacks in crosses at 8 feet high anymore, there's no need for a 6'5" keeper, and he said keepers should be more his height now. Who are we to argue with the great man? I don't know why people keep going on and on about his height.

2. Leicester might have a better side than us, certainly on form and with the current moron in charge. Other than them and the top 6, no one else comes close, certainly not Burnley, and it should be a sackable offence for finishing below them. They have worse players but play better as a team due to better management (I would argue that they will struggle badly should they be viewed as a top side and teams be happy to get a point at Turf Moor and stop attacking them and let Burnley attack them; quite simply they are not good enough to play this way and they will struggle next season, Dyche or not).

3. Allardyce is not the best English manager, he is one of the worst. He has never won more Premier League games than he's lost. His current form for Everton is bang on trend with his long career. He's crap. He loses more than he wins, season after season after season. He's an utter failure and failing at Everton like he's failed at every other club, by never ever leaving a club having won more Premier League games than he's lost. Utter shite — and we pay him ٤m a year to be utter shite.

4. Who are the Portuguese managers better than Fonseca or Silva? I could suggest two, but neither are having their greatest seasons. I would love to know who's third best to relegate these two down to 4th and 5th or even 5th and 6th?

5. It's not about making Martina into Cafu. It's about making a system that works, that suits what we have, playing a way that gets the best out of the players, using the media to encourage the fans and to get them behind you, and going out to win games against the team bottom of the league, not getting a point and trying to spin it as a good result.

Face it, Allardyce is the most overrated manager of all time. His record speaks volumes. He's never done anything, ever. He loses wherever he goes and he's built a career on failure. Every reasonably big side he's been at – West Ham, Newcastle, and now us – their fans despise him. He's turned us into a small team with a small team mentality. If he stays next season, we will be back to "knives to gunfights" type quotes once more. He's a clueless buffoon. A serial loser.

All this business needs to be happening now for us to get a manager in June 1st. He will need a full pre-season to make a couple of quality signings and get his methods over to the players.

If Everton finish 9th, it will be through pure luck that the teams lower are somehow, inconceivably, playing worse football than us.

It is completely possible for the existing team to play a style of football which is far more attacking and for certain players to be dropped/replaced with more fitting players within the squad which would galvanize a better response and performance – we've all seen it this season.

Martina at left-back could and should have been avoided. Schneiderlin continually played must have been avoided. Lookman going out on loan should have been avoided. Niasse being dropped shouldn't have happened as he was the only player scoring regularly. All these happened under Allardyce.

Imagine a leading line including Lookman, Walcott and Tuson or Niasse. The number of scoring opportunities would go up significantly with the ball being whipped in.

The midfield always had more cohesion without Schneiderlin.

It's about the players AND the style. Some players will not get better under any manager. Others are portraying the mentality Allardyce is conveying.

The mentality Allardyce passes onto the team is that there are games we simply are not going to win and therefore simply should not try to win. This is so, so wrong. The mentality bleeds throughout everything the players then do and into games the team could and should win easily.

Rafa at Newcastle has begun instilling the passion and desire needed to win. They have a long way to go but the team are showing the type of play and team work and aggression the Everton team so desperately need.

Fonseca may not be the right answer but there's a manager out there who is and would instill a massively different approach which the team needs.

Pickford is the same height as Southall but nowhere near as good, and Southall got Player of the Year in 1985.

Average height in 85? Henry was 6'-2" Andy Murray and Djokovic are 6'-4" compared to Becker and McEnroe? 6'-4", 6'-5" athletes like De Gea are as agile as 6-foot athletes of the past.

But what about the errors?

We were never going down this season, not with such poor teams in this poor league.

In Southall's words, Pickford is the perfect height. The game is not the same as the 80s or 90s. A keeper does not need to be 6'-5". And whilst you mention about people getting bigger, so what, the goals are the same size.

Pickford would only have a problem with height if he was getting lobbed a lot or his height was an issue. He is not. It is not. There is no issue. Big keepers overcompensate for their lack of agility, meaning they get so low their height doesn't matter anyway.

You should google the Neville Southall interviews on Goalkeeper Magazine. Particularly the chat between Shay Given and Big Nev. They are truly enlightening. You will change your opinion.

Jardim was lined up last season to take over Arsenal so it looks like that transition may have already been arranged. Unless Mr Moshiri has pulled a rabbit out of the hat.

Otherwise, have you got an achievable preference for us, Fonseca or Silva?

Did Allardyce not instill passion at Bolton and all of them teams he kept up? You are all pissing in the wind. No facts. No logic. No evidence.

Talking about mentality like you've sat in his changing rooms. Little Sam is like a tiger on the touchline.

I believe Silva is much more active on the training ground. He is certainly more innovative. He is also more pragmatic in terms of formations, meaning he can play more than one way.

I don't care too much about how it all went wrong with Watford, but it would have been good to see that he is the kind of manager who can dig in and turn things around when the going got tough. For me, that remains the only real question mark against him.

We need a settled team a 4-4-2 formation and continuity to get back on track.

1. Put me in the ''slightly concerned but never really thought it would happen'' relegation group.

2. As an admirer of Unsworth, put me in the ‘'I think he would have kept us up and turnt the corner.''

3. Obviously in the ‘sack Sam' camp. Due to #2 and wanting Unsworth to have been kept on instead in the first place.

4. Give me a manager/DoF who has a plan/strategy or style they want to play. I fail to see ours! Before the RS kick a ball, I know exactly what to expect.

Finally, our recruitment was diabolical and frankly unforgivable. I wish Steve Walsh & Koeman would go on record and tell us exactly how they planned to implement 4x plodding No 10s in a system? Any system? In a league where pace is king!

An above poster mentioned TalkSport. Well they had a conversation about Wolves the other day. Wolves have the foundations to make an impact next season. A few proper signings and they will do well.

We, however, need a complete squad overhaul due to not having a style, direction or gameplan and just collecting players like they were Pokemon cards. We've become the Spurs team of the early 2000s, where they just bought every central midfielder going.

Forget 4-4-2; 4-2-3-1 is not a million miles from 4-4-2 anyway.

Silva seems to me a more hands-on manager, tracksuit on and conveying methods first hand on the training pitch. I think this leads to closer ties and bonds with the players. Maybe this is just what we need to get our essential team spirit back.

He is young, hungry and fresh. He wanted to join us in October but was it was poor timing for us in the extreme.

Whoever we get is a gamble but I think Silva would be up for it and dedicated. Between the two, Silva for me.

I never wanted Sam, Ronald or Roberto. The football has continued to get worse although the quality of the squad has improved (on paper). Certain players have been terrible yet continue to play without credit.

I have no idea what will happen but I wouldn't be surprised if Sam stayed and we qualified for Europe next season. Then what would happen?

I only know we will continue to play appalling football with him as manager and I just can't watch it. He'll probably also sell all our best young players. So I won't watch it.

What really sets Fonseca apart from Rogers though, is the Champions League performances.

I did a direct comparison of Fonseca and Silva and it was quite interesting to see how their careers went up together, and Silva certainly had the upper hand early on. Fonseca has more trophies now though, with 2 leagues won to 1.

Also, his football was alright at City, but not exactly exciting. His football elsewhere was dull. And since City, his career has been rather poor and there's a long queue of ex-players and journos lining up to slate him.

No thanks; he'd be another Koeman for me.

I wonder if Merson will recommend him for the Arsenal job???

Managing us would be a whole different ball game, one that I don't think he is capable of. Hiring Mancini would be a huge mistake.

I remember reading about how he transformed Koulibaly from an average defender into one that will command a large fee. All by the use of a drone! His methods are very modern and I think that's what we need.

Unfortunately, Sarri is someone out of our price range but would like us to find someone like him or even a Bielsa disciple.

I know it all went tits up in the end but I thought we were onto something in Martinez's first season.

The wildcard for me, as manager, is Julian Nagelsmann. 6 months ago, he had "agreed" to become the next Bayern manager. Clearly, that was wrong and he's not. Hoffenheim have not done as well this season (6th) as last (4th) and perhaps he could be tempted away.

The guy was considered the brightest young manager in the world, just 6 months ago. He's only 30 years old (yes thirty – not a typo) and is extremely innovative (he has a giant TV screen installed on the training pitch so he can pause training wind something back and explain what they are doing wrong and then put it right).

This guy is meant to be special. I haven't watched much Bundesliga this season to know why Hoffenheim have not done quite as well as hoped, but surely we can have a chat with this fella?

Interesting article on him: Outside of the boot

Tactical analysis video:

If Sam wants has any ambitions to remain as Everton manager then he has to earn that chance by playing a good style of football, winning games (not drawing) and have a chance of winning a trophy.

For me, with Wenger leaving Arsenal, I would give him a contract for a year or two and tell him to bring in his successor to work under him. He would attract better players, he likes to work to a budget without going over the top, he likes his teams to play with style, and he would get us our respect back.

I would hope that Moshri could tempt him with a last project of taking a once-feared and well-respected team back to the heights it deserves.

Bring back the School of Science!

Playing 4-4-2 hasn't done Burnley any harm this season with Cork & Westwood or Hendrick in the middle, Lennon & Gudmundsson on the wings. I agree trying to do it over here with the German double six doesn't really work; it did for Ranieri after one season, but with the more traditional 6 & 8 there's greater balance linking defence and attack.

I'm not a huge fan of the Premier League version of 4-2-3-1 – it seems to be used by lower to mid-table clubs trying to stifle those more successful ones filling it full of defensive-minded players. Man City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Man Utd and Spurs tend to favour 4-3-3, Chelsea 3-5-2 or 3-4-3.

I'd also agree with what you said about Fonseca to a degree. Shakhtar are forced to play miles away from Donetsk and are now on their second move which must be difficult plus their Champions League form has been excellent especially in the Ukraine but as for displacing the top club, I think they've won 11 of the last 17 titles.

Personally I'd settle for Fonseca but I still wish they'd attempt to break the bank for Mancini. Surely if perennial underachievers Newcastle can attract Benitez we can attract a manager of an equal calibre?

There is something wrong with believing it's the style of play after 3 managers. The way people are talking, it's like we change system and the players become good. So rash, this fanbase.
I try to learn from errors of judgement – not demand a new thing that is a big risk.

Robles
Holgate Jagielka Williams Baines
Gueye Davies Schneiderlin
Barkley Lukaku Mirallas

That was mainly the team, particularly after Seamus was injured. There was no Number 10; Barkley was shoved onto the right, but played inside. His sensational cross for Lukaku was one of the rare moments he did go down the outside. Mirallas was also very narrow.

Koeman decided to change the style of play and bring in a Number 10. He wanted to play a narrow 4-2-3-1 like so:

Pickford
Coleman Keane Williams Baines
Gueye Schneiderlin
Rooney Klaassen Sigurdsson
Sandro

This was how he was shaping the side up to play. With Klaassen, Rooney and Sigurdsson all extremely narrow and using their quick feet, quick thinking and good passing to play one-touch stuff and move the ball quickly through the opposition lines. Only it didn't work and things fell apart quickly.

On occasions, we have slipped back into a 4-3-3, and nearly every time we have played rather well. But, rather than sticking to it, Allardyce keeps shifting formation and heavily prefers a 4-2-3-1.

We've not had a settled side to say what the 4-3-3 that worked so well was, and that shows it was the system that achieved the result – not the players. The 4-3-3 is narrow, it leaves a channel for Coleman in particular to surge into. Walcott is narrow and plays inside the channel like he prefers, and therefore we have 3 attackers. The formation only works with a lot of energy in the middle 3. There is a big gap from the back 4 to the front 3 and a lot of ground needs to be covered.

Rooney in there can do a job against the lesser sides and he can hit those long passes that release us on the counter-attack, but Sigurdsson covers much more ground and really makes the system work so much better. He can also launch those longer passes and really make us go front to back so much quicker. It's getting forwards quickly in the 4-2-3-1 that we've really struggled.

So yes, change the manager, change the system, and things will work much better.

We could do a lot worse...

Man City wouldn't have made us look ridiculous in 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1? I thought Allardyce was slagged for using Calvert-Lewin as the Number 10?

Anthony (#88),

How do I in any way suggest accepting the current situation? How do you come to that conclusion? I'm simply saying the narrative of shit style of play is false. We played well in patches vs Burnley and lost because our keeper, who is better than Southall, fucked up. As well as individual mistakes from Williams. The style of play was on-the-floor passing, with a centre-forward in central midfield and our best attackers playing. Hardly negative.

Who could we have had at left-back instead of Martina? Who could have played central midfield instead of Schneirderlin when Schneirderlin has played? The ٥M wonder signing from a relegated team, 8-stone baby legs? Or that brilliant 50-cap England International, Tom Davies?

Schneirderlin was being called "Rolls-Royce" last season. A Man Utd reject. Our fans are too quick to jump on bandwagons all the time.... too quick to find scapegoats.

Where would Guardiola have this squad in the league with his (buzzword at the ready) "expansive" style of play?

Anyone, where would Guardiola have had us? 8th?

And yes, we've been lucky. Penalties, rebounds etc... We are fucking shite with 37 shite players and Coleman.

A bit harsh on Rooney but he's terrible in central midfield.

Koeman wanted a target man for Giroud to play off, Depay to cross from one side, and Sigurdsson the other. He also wanted Witsel in central midfield as he knew Schneirderlin and Gana are second-rate and one would have to be benched. He also wanted cover at left-back. The board let him down badly

Moshiri phoning Jim White to cry because Barkley wouldn't leave. Koeman probably envisaged Sandro and Klaassen bedding in slowly as more experienced players like Rooney and Giroud played their position until we were winning games and had confidence

Also, "we played well in patches against Burnley..." – Jeez, I must have missed that couple of minutes.

Stop talking bollocks mate, you're a proper wind-up merchant

Dream-team time: Arteta with Arsene upstairs.

I'll wake up one day.

If you want a laugh, laugh at people pining after two coaches that aren't even on West Ham's radar. The Moose would rather keep Moyes but our Ukrainian football experts want Portugal's fourth best coach. If he is 4th. I can only think off Mourinho, Villas Boas, and their Euro championship winner. There's probably Carlos Queiroz and few others as well.

We should at least sound him out. If he is favourable and it's found that Brands is still uncertain, then get him in asap.

We need to sort this mess out urgently. Him being involved in some capacity would at least attract the right kind of players.

You can't be serious and blame the formation on the City defeat. We were just not good enough to match them.

Of course there are variations of 4-4-2, 4-5-1, 4-2-3-1 – I just do not want to see the dreaded back 3 or back 5 line ever again when we really can get murdered.

And I do not want a manager who continually changes the team and formation, which is the main reason this season was a disaster. A settled team and continuity is key.

I really don't know whether Allardyce can claim huge credit for us now being where we are and not where Southampton or Stoke are. I don't know and I don't care, because his level of achievement since he arrived is not one of the reasons he has to go. And he has to go.

Having two midfielders against three, you're simply outnumbered. Then figure in that the three are very mobile and the two are Rooney and Schneiderlin and it's like a comedy. What on earth was Allardyce thinking? Well I know, launch it long over the press and hope Tosun, Calvert-Lewin, Walcott and Bolasie would scamper after it and get lucky. When he shifted into a 4-2-3-1, it was marginally better, but maybe that was just City easing off the throttle.

4-4-2 limits Coleman, he is blocked by a winger. If he plays a team with a front 3, then he has to tuck in and make a flat back 4 and so cannot attack. Whereas with a 4-2-3-1, he can push on and let a defensive midfielder cover behind him.

The formation also limits Walcott; suddenly he was playing like a right back instead of getting forward. Same with Bolasie on the left. The midfield 2 have to be so mobile. The front two in a proper 4-4-2 need to get the ball; otherwise, they both become passengers. 5-man midfield formations have an extra man and can really punish a 4-4-2.

Come on, lads, 4-4-2 is over. Forget about it. And don't give me Leicester. Okazaki dropped off Vardy to play in an attacking midfield role making a five-man midfield, and Kante would cover behind the midfield like Superman and play like two men. Therefore, it may have appeared like 4-4-2, but it was more like a 4-2-3-1 when they defended.

I would back a 4-4-2 formation (or variation of) against 3-5-2 or 5-3-2 any day. That's all I'm saying. And don't change a formation halfway through a season so the players have to adjust to a new system which causes massive problems.

I am not going to judge Unsworth at all as he wasn't in the job long enough but under Allardyce and Koeman Everton performed so poorly in too many games.

In fact, it's hard to mention any game especially at Goodison where they looked convincing even the Hammers game when they scored four.

If nobody bought season tickets, then perhaps Moshiri would get the message... but that wasn't to be, so I suspect Allardyce will be kept on a little while longer... but it's hard to see what he will change.

I have been advocating Wenger as DOF for months with David Dein as CEO and let them sort out a new manager.

Alternatively we could try and tempt Monchi to reform his relationship with Emery.

There are quality people available we just need to get them to believe in the dream.

He wants out of Russia.
He would love another crack at the Premier League.
Yes, money helped both personally and in building a team capable of challenging and winning trophies... and we now have some.
He won Man City's first trophy in donkey's years, remind you of another club?

The above goes for all managers but crucially Mancini:
Proven experience in the Premier League.
Win ratio for career is about 45%.
Good cup record.
Decent European record.
Good age, name, reputation and respected.
Bought, played and improved David Silva, Kompany, Augeuro, Ballotelli amongst many other quality players.
These were not household names. Good players only just starting to get into their international teams.
Mix of youth and experience, solid and skilful players.
Started as a counter-attacking team before improving to simply outplay teams.
Good international contacts.

Obviously:
Better than Sam.
Talks a lot less rubbish than most managers.
Knows Northwest England.
If you can get a player like Balotelli playing, you've got to have something about you.

The only gripe I read about him was from Shay Given. He was a near 40-year-old keeper who couldn't get a game for the Champions... Pinch of salt needed.
Mancini very much required! NSNO

If you want anybody to give any credence to anything you say, don't say something so frigging stupid.

It really doesn't matter what you say now as long as the audience may have heard of you.

If only I was famous.

"Allardyce changed the effervescence of the game"

Geniuses Paul Mersen and Gary Lineker not knowingly.

T'was my mistake to pick up The Metro on the train today, four pages of the dark shits advertising the new kit; four pages of the ugly smug twats... I admit to getting my pen out and doing some alterations.

When will we get with the big boys and be ultra pros? Moshiri, it's up to you!

I actually said he was our player of the year and this is a thread about Allardyce but, if one wrong comment invalidates every subsequent opinion, then we all might as well go home.

If it's such a stupid thing to say refrain from abuse and tell me why I'm wrong. It should be easy. Have you got stats to back up your opinion? Why is he better than Watford's keeper, for example?

The top 8 all have better keepers. Burnley have two. He's been at fault for at least 8 goals this season, I've only witnessed Hart make anywhere near as many fuck-ups. You might know more.

I could not disagree more. What have the poor people of Pago Pago or the Pitcairns done to deserve Allardyce?

You are basically saying "Appoint Mancini because he bought Ballotelli (waste of space) and he knows the northwest."

He has not got a proven record of success anywhere and was lucky to win a very poor Premier League with the funds to go buy anyone he wanted at Man City. The reason City got rid is he is not good enough.

We need Wenger to get us back on track, bring in some decent young players, and overlook the next long-term manager.

We started with 4-4-2 against City. We switched to 4-2-3-1 after the third goal, when Calvert-Lewin dropped 20 yards deeper. Honestly, guys, playing with 4-4-2 is too rigid, it's too inflexible, and it's like playing with 10 men, you're outnumbered. There's a reason no-one plays it anymore.

Cantona is considered a maverick here simply because he stood between the lines. In the rest of Europe, they don't consider him to be half the player we do and they all laugh at the outdated tactics (4-4-2) that we used until we got going in European football once more and learnt to be more flexible.

Unsworth was turning it around? That was his last game in charge and it reeked of relegation. Of course, there was plenty of time for him to improve us and also more time for us to get us relegated.

Allardyce has done his job. It was ugly and I really have been staying away from all things Everton since we got to 40 points. But credit where it's due.

There is no evidence for that whatsoever, unless people have forgotten the Atalanta and Southampton games, which made it very clear we needed a fireman immediately. And in he came.

He didn't mind about saving the furniture or granny's framed portrait. He concentrated on the beams, the floors and the ceilings. I admit I have to sympathise with him when people now say the guy with the bucket of water would have done the same job.

Believe you me, there are literally dozens of 'Koemans' out there ready to take advantage of the naivety of Moshiri & Co. Although, this time around, the Board may well put the appointment out to a poll of 'recognised Evertonians'!

Close to the fanbase, this lot, you know!

I think you will find Unsworth's last game in charge was the 4-0 win against West Ham. I think you been conned by Big Fat Sam who also thinks it was him who masterminded the West Ham win. He has taken us from 13th to 9th... playing crap.

His mantra seems to be: "Play as negative as we can as long as we don't lose." Oops – that didn't work! My, what a success...

Also, we were not going to be relegated. Allardyce did not save us. Those defending him and who think his appointment was okay, seem to me, to have a lack of aspiration that is truly jaw-dropping.

Sam fucking Allardyce as our manager? How low, how defeated, how fucking devoid of ambition have we become???

I give him very little if any credit for our "survival", and I was so wrong when I thought he could evolve... No chance!!!

Wenger, anyone???

Being a World Cup year, it's imperative to get the new man in asap. Now that we are safe, it's job done and I really don't see the point of keeping Allardyce around till the end of the season if he's going to be let go anyways.

Emery or Nagelsmann for me.

That's we are about to find out!

We need sweeping changes from top to bottom. It feels like amateur hour, the way we've been run the last 20 years.

Worst of all, his actions have meant that our biggest prospect since Rooney is at risk of leaving us after a successful loan spell in Germany.

The crisis manager has sorted the crisis out; now let's get someone who wants to play football.

Leonardo Jardim of Monaco probably tops the bill (I don't think he would have lost at Huddersfield, at home to West Bromwich, or indeed been knocked out of the Champions League by Sevilla :-) ). He has won the League in France. He's probably on Arsenal's short list.

You-know-who is now possibly just number two. Between Fonseca and Silva, I would choose the former: Shakhtar had an impressive season in Europe, and they're winning Ukrainian league titles with ease while being unable to play in their home city. When Fonseca arrived there, the dominating force was Dynamo Kiev.

His record in Portugal includes finishing third in the league with a small club, and thus qualifying them for the play-off stage of the Champions League. I have a hunch he'll be our next manager, and I wouldn't mind.

Perhaps some might argue "that's a lower division" but it's looking like all 3 promoted last year from that lower division will stay up & one could overtake us on Monday night.

My concern about keeping Mr Allardyce has nothing more to do than the style of football he plays. I would rather not take the risk of giving him another transfer window for fear of who he might bring in and sell.

Thankfully we will be in the Premier League next season; if the powers that be realise Sam's term is over, it's time to get a replacement sooner rather than later.

Brendan Rogers might be another worth considering. No matter who the next manager is, it's all about playing good entertaining football.

He is young, hungry and would get the fans back on board with his brand of attractive football. He will get a bigger club – I just hope we act quickly.

It's pretty much a sure bet Allardyce will not improve things at Goodison if he stays for 5 years – let alone another 5 months – and so a change has to be made if the board has any sense whatsoever.

I just want someone who has the vision not to sign strikers like Stracqualursi, Niasse, Traore and Tosun.

There's a close-knit unit in Allardyce, Lee, Shakespeare and Walsh. They are supported by Ferguson and Jagielka for obvious reasons. Possibly a few more too.

It's just possible that this power base is having a warped influence on Mr Moshiri. He will be getting first-hand information from the above about how the club is making progress and being sold on future glories. Also, he may be a bit isolated because of it and be hesitant to remove them all.

I thought the moment Koeman left couldn't be beaten. The lifting of this moose-shaped shadow will be unsurpassable.

But Sam has done his job and kept us up... though I don't think we would have gone down, whoever was in charge.

Time to thank Sam for his services, give him his huge wad of cash, and find somebody else.

Who exactly? – no fucking idea... but, seeing as I have fuck-all part in the decision-making process, my thoughts don't matter.

Tell you what, though – as shit as we are, it makes compelling viewing.

Assuming Allardyce is gone, of course.

There's actually a lot of good managers out there and probably only 4 or 5 teams who might be looking for new managers and will pay them more than us.

I think Emery, Nagelsmann, Tuchel, Jardim, Wenger, Conte, Simeone, Fonseca and even Silva are all exciting options potentially. Howe and Dyche deserve consideration too.

The thought that Allardyce will still be here next season fills me with nagging fear. We've already written off half a year. Let's not lose any more time going backwards.

You have hit the nail on the head. The club has listen to players, backroom staff and hangers-on for years.

You look back over the years, Kirkby for instance. Moyes, Nevile and Cahill etc.. Urging us to go to Kirkby. They were looking after their own interest. keeping well in with Kenwright. Who would have suffered, Not them. They're not here now. It would have been us the supporters who still go the match.

It's not just Sam who needs to go, it needs a good clean out from top to bottom. Then we'll get a manager that won't be influence from previous regimes'. The managers we had all come with great intentions but end up playing the same style – even Unsworth fell into the trap.

We know it takes time to find and structure a deal for a new manager, so why not give us the time now, so the new boss is in place before the transfer window opens?

I can see Allardyce getting fired after the final game of the season, before pissing around trying to find a replacement, not allowing enough time to bring in players in the window... etc, etc.

Oh, and he was a treacherous twat!

I'd take half of those managers you've listed over Allardyce. It would be an absolute no-brainer if Simeone was interested.

But how have we gone backwards under Allardyce? Factually we have moved up the Premier League and made two good January signings.

The club are a step closer to building the stadium. Reality just doesn't back up the wild accusations that get thrown about.

Having watched a bit of Simeone and Silva, I believe they both would have set us up very defensively this season if they were in charge because of the players we have had available.

David Unsworth's last game in charge wasn't the defeat at Southampton as you say in your post. It was the 4-0 win over West Ham at Goodison Park. Allardyce has since tried to steal the credit for that win but he had just been announced as our next manager and sat watching in the stands as David Unsworth's team recorded our best win of the season.

The reason we would be interesting for the foreign legion would be money and the Premier League. Wenger, however, may just be a good shout for more than just football reasons.

The biggest problem is, the people in charge of our club do not fill us with any kind of confidence in making the right decisions... so we are all left debating about all sorts of shit that we have no control over.

It would be nice, however, if they actually tried to connect with the fans a bit more than just sending out season ticket renewals.

The point is that a manager with Unsworth's results/performances, culminating in the performance and result at Southampton could not be said to be turning things around.

How have we gone backward? Well for starters, against the same 9 opponents that Koeman faced to start the season, Allardyce has picked up a point less, 7 compared to Koeman picking up 8.

Also, Allardyce is averaging less points per game than Unsworth did. In Unsworth's 5 games in charge, we picked up 7 points, an average of 1.4 points per match. In the 20 matches Allardyce has been manager, we've picked up 27 points, an average of 1.35 points per game. Slightly worse off.

Under Unsworth, we averaged 2 goals per game. Under Allardyce, half that, only 1.1 goals per game. Under Unsworth we were also allowing on average 2 goals a game. Under Allardyce, we're allowing 1.3 goals a game, so on average we are allowing more goals than we're scoring under Allardyce whereas we were breaking even under Unsworth.

Of course, beyond that is the undeniable fact that our play has been atrocious and the man is trying to act as if a point against Swansea in which we were mostly played off the pitch was some grand accomplishment!!

Unsworth had no idea how long his tenure as manager was going to be so every day he was turning up for work not knowing if it was his last day as manager. This meant planning ahead was impossible.

People assume that because he was already at the club Unsworth was aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the players but Koeman had removed the first team squad from contact with the other age groups.

Because of the European fixtures he had little opportunity to work with the first team squad. If match days, recovery days and travelling time are taken off there's little time left. There was enough to time however to recognise that Schneiderlin and Mirallas were not up to the task and Rooney, who was having marital problems, wasn't worth a starting place. The West Ham result showed that there was a light at the end of the tunnel.

Allardyce was lucky to come in when he did and the fixtures helped him too. I genuinely believe Unsworth would have matched the results under Allardyce and that the football would have been better.

If Allardyce wants some reassurance then I would say be assured Sam you won't be manager for much longer.

You mean the Wayne Rooney who Unsworth didn't fancy scored from the halfway line in that game you mention versus West Ham? Of course, it was Allardyce sitting in the stand as the new manager that helped with that result.

Do you not remember how utterly shambolic we were under Rhino? After watching Koeman get sacked for his shambolic management, Unsworth takes over and plays the same players in the same positions.

Unreasonable to suggest no improvement came when Allardyce first arrived.

It would be nice, however, if they actually tried to connect with the fans a bit more than just sending out season ticket renewals.

Err... ya mean like putting out a survey of their 'customers'? Got it.

Everton goal, scored by number 191, Michael Kenrick!

"No team is in danger if relegation in October." – Really? If that is true, then the logical conclusion is that, despite the 5-2 tonking we got from Arsenal, sacking Koeman was totally unnecessary. Haven't seen anyone make that point, I don't expect to either.

Is any team in danger of relegation in November? Because that's when the owner called time on the Unsworth debacle. Between 22 October and 28 November, we saw no consistency of team selection or tactics and the only bright spot was a streaky 3-2 win against an unlucky Watford who missed a penalty in the last minute. What exactly was Unsworth turning around? Give him credit for the West Ham game. Was that the turn?

At Southampton, for his last game in charge, we got into a friendly argument with Soton fans. Both sides reckoned that their team would lose the game and would go down. They strolled to an easy win against a clueless Blues and they have since looked like they might well drop.

We've picked up from there but, make no mistake, we were miles away from competing with a poor Soton side.

That game was also when we lost Leighton Baines. From that point until his recent return, we have been forced to field teams with no left-right balance whatsoever. Given the poor form and injuries in the defence and the lack of punch up front, we were not just relegation candidates, we were nailed-on.

I make none of these points in support or otherwise of Sam Allardyce, but I'll pose this question: Suppose that the team continued in an erratic fashion in the months that followed his appointment. That was largely the pattern of other rescue acts that he'd been involved in. Suppose we were in, say, Swansea's current position, with the four games to play which we have currently. Would we be arguing about sacking the manager because he's failed to produce attractive football? Or would be grateful that we were in a position to make sure we finished in the top 17?

Moshiri is obviously a man of few words as he generally only speaks through Jim White. I think the board are so far removed and disconnected from us and football in general that the surveys were sent out to find a glimmer of positivity from the fans as a reason to keep Big Sam. They must wear ear-muffs when they are watching the game.

No, you don't get relegated in October and plenty of clubs sack managers in October and November not becaus they fear relegation but because expectations aren't being met. I give you Chelsea when they sacked Mourinho (I believe they sat 16th in the table at the time) and Liverpool when they hired Klopp in October, when they sat below us in the table. Sacking a manager doesn't mean panic, relegation struggle.

It's hard to say "Let's rebuild" because we haven't had any foundations for a while now. Nothing to build on etc. I'm not a Moyes fan boy but I do believe we need to get back the ethics he brought to the team. Get the staff and players who get the "club" and will die for the badge and always work for each other.

We are not in a position to simply buy the best players and hope it all works out. Back to basics – get the players that want to play for Everton and have a management team behind them that isn't just there for the wages. Easy... right?!

We did have a foundation:

Lukaku, McCarthy, Barkley, Barry, Jagielka, Coleman, Baines, etc in the 5th-place finish season.

We had a manager who didn't pay attention to defensive duties and lost the dressing room with Lukaku's eminent departure.

You could have focused on the defending / made a signing like... gulp... the January one across the park (Van Dijk) to shore up their defensive frailties. And you could have brought up some of the younger players into that side and you would have had something really exciting.

But it all went pear-shaped.

We played well against Man City and were unlucky not to win. But the level of performances after that was shocking.

Sadly, for different reasons and circumstances it hasn't worked out for Koeman, Unsworth or Allardyce. No real improvement in results or performances. A better coach could get more out of our squad and be more decisive with the terrible form and attitude of certain senior players.

Arsenal, Chelsea, Spurs (I think Pochettino is 60:40 to go) will be targeting top-class managers and can all offer better squads and European football next season.

The majority agree Sam was the wrong man at the wrong time and that hasn't changed. I want Mancini and have done for years. More importantly, I just want improvement, on and off the pitch; if it ends up being some unknown name and proves me wrong, I would be delighted.

What gave you optimism in the Unsworth interregnum?

What was it in the attitude, ability, balance in the squad that reassured that relegation was never on?

1. Allardyce is not the answer...

2. If relegation was determined by a vote of real football fans on quality football, we would definitely be playing in the Championship next season.

We are in a very precarious position. Moshiri has seen a lot of his money wasted on second-rate players, apart from a couple of reasonable buys. We need a really good talent scout to identify players who haven't yet hit the big time. We're not going to attract quality players after the season we've just had. I'm worried!!

Wenger, anybody??

All I'm saying is that Unsworth was most definitely in charge for the Southampton game and that looked like a team chasing relegation. Therefore, in no way can I accept that Unsworth was starting to turn things around.

We are in a different league to Southampton in terms of club size, but we need to consider our next steps really carefully. Whoever we bring in needs our backing and we need to show patience.

Everton is an expensive mess but it's not yet a disaster.

But it is a tiny bit odd you fixate on the Southampton game as the epitome of Unsworth's time as caretaker. I saw vast improvement in spirit from the team even during the loss to Chelsea. Then there were the much-appreciated wins against Watford and West Ham.

In arguing for Big Sam — well can anyone point out a single stand-out performance or result? Where exactly have we picked up points where points would not have been expected? I can remember some one-sided tonkings against Spurs, Man City and Arsenal and that was with trying not to concede at all costs!

I struggle to see how anyone can argue definitively that Sam succeeded in his brief where Unsworth couldn't, unless of course, you are referring to making us as hideous to watch as possible.

I think his press conference in response to the questionnaire lacked class, nous, and was a total embarrassment to himself and the club. The journos were laughing at him, not with him, as he showed his true worth.

No way on this planet will Moshiri stick with him. He will be removed quietly, probably expensively, and probably without any of the clarifications he is seeking; same way out as Martinez and Koeman before him.

He did the job he was tasked to do. Okay. Lot of cheek to ask for an extension before his contract has even finished, and in doing so, has alienated Moshiri even further. If Allardyce had played players to their strengths, had played some adventurous football, and got the same results, then possibly he may have been considered further but, as it stands, then no way.

I have read in the media that Mr Brands is joining us? If so, then probably a further nail in his coffin. Also, I expect to see Walsh either demoted to Chief Scout (if he remains) and Shakespeare can also slip away quietly.

Brands will give his opinion regarding Fonesca or Silva or Howe, and Moshiri will follow his advice.I'm looking forward to seeing Allardyce going with no fanfare and certainly little if any waving goodbye from Moshiri.

Allardyce is a useless, money-grabbing (I saw his Jag and wanted one) sack of shite. I know you are kind of stuck with him as you begged for him to come and save us but no-one will condemn you when you admit that you got it wrong about him. We all get it wrong sometimes.

I remember getting a couple of results I thought impossible under Koeman, more of the same half-heartedness from the senior players and Unsworth blooding youngsters who arguably performed better than their teammates.

Then I remember being revolted at the sight of Allardyce's face, revolted at the sound of his voice and bored senseless by the football he served. What do you remember about that, Tony?

After smashing West Ham, and I give no credit to Lardiola at all for that, we had Huddersfield at home. Had Unsworth had both these games then he'd have won both, fitting in with his 100% league home record (2 games this season and the Norwich game), and the fact had Huddersfield are dog shit and we would have beat them easily whoever was in charge.

It was Unsworth who got us on solid foundations at home, and Allardyce maintained that for a few months to eek us to safety.

We were dreadful against Southampton away, and we've been dreadful away all season. The Leicester result is no shame, considering the table now, and a draw at Crystal Palace away would have Lardiola grinning like a Cheshire Cat.

So, no. Allardyce is a shit manager, and he gets no credit from me for anything he “achieved” this season. He's been an utter failure, like he has been all his managerial career. If he fails to win more premier league games than he's lost with us this season, with our 𧶲m squad, then that's a sackable reason on its own.

He's failed to win more premier league games than he's lost at every club: Bolton, Blackburn, Newcastle, Sunderland, palace, and West Ham. How on earth has he got a good reputation and got the England job? He's got a shameful record. He shouldn't be getting any jobs with his record of failure. How he conned any of you to back him, I'll never know.

Get rid. We should have a couple of weeks back so our new manager can assess, but presumably they're under contract elsewhere.

“When a new manager comes in, even if he hasn't taken a coaching session, the players go out and respond to it. They think, ‘I have got to prove that I deserve my place in the side'. That contributed to what was a great victory.”

What Sam said in that interview may have some grains of truth in it but really if he didn't train the players that week and didn't pick the team - he could give Unsworth sole credit for the result coulnd't he?

The following piece by Luke O'Farrell for ESPN is closer to the truth and one of the many reasons why the Goodison faithful have never really taken to Sam.

Allardyce believes safety was the one and only goal, but he had the platform to do more than that. That there was never any attempt or inclination to seize that opportunity speaks volumes. Three wins in his first four matches lifted Everton from 13th to ninth as panic and relegation talk faded. Those results saw Everton head into the festive period within six points of Tottenham. The gap between the two teams now stands at 26 points.

Everton then survived a run of six league games without a win due to the equally poor form of the teams around them. The general hopelessness of the teams outside the top six meant successive home wins against Leicester and Crystal Palace saw the Toffees back in the mix, travelling to Watford in February just two points behind seventh-place Burnley with a trip to Turf Moor the following week.

Wins at Watford and Burnley would have put Everton seventh on their own and given them a three-point advantage over both Burnley and Leicester in the standings. But Everton lost both matches with little resistance and the two-point gap to Burnley has since stretched to 10 and ended any hopes of a belated European push.

Link

Unsworth, however, lacks the steel and strength of character to become a manager, especially at Premier League level. I think he knows that and is happy to be involved as a youth coach.

By all means, ignore the statistics. Ignore all the negatives Sam has and sniff up the scent of his used big Y-fronts. If he stays on he'll be gone by Christmas... and we'll be worse off again.

Hopefully the next manager works with our existing staff, like Unsworth, rather than isolation like Koeman. Hopefully, they won't have to weakly point to a result that had nothing to do with them as signs of their ability.

Had Allardyce continued on that run or made any real progress, would people be calling for him to go? Or is it just a few internet cranks and statistics don't count unless they've come out of Sam's Trump-esque Analysis Room... which closely resembles his ample backside.

Allardyce has done the job required; it wasn't pretty, and hopefully we can now replace him... picking the right man will be very tricky though.

The last few years have been a litany of foot-dragging and indecision. The confusion over who we should buy in the last off-season, the frustration and clear miscommunication with Koeman and then the indecision and foot-dragging double-takes over who to appoint as his successor was frankly cringe-worthy to watch.

The poor handling of players in the club and out on loan and then sending match-winners out on loan is stupefying. Now this debacle seems to cap a hilarious year of The Everton Follies.

We discuss ad-nauseum in fan sites like this one about who we would like to have as our new manager as if they are lining up to come here (they're not, let's not fool ourselves) and we are falling into the bottom 8 category of the Premier League manager-go-round (after Allardyce comes Pardew, no?).

The ultimate insult of asking the fans what they think of the current manager, who has basically achieved what he was hired to do, is embarrassing. I'm sure he is aware of what the fans think due to sites like this and yet the Club upper management apparently don't? Sheesh.

If I lived in Liverpool I'd be throwing eggs and insults at the top brass rather than the manager.

https://www.footballinsider247.com/writing-is-on-the-wall-for-big-sam-after-moshiri-summons/

Getting Sparky as the new boss is not much of an improvement.